Haunted Inheritance
by Wokwok
Summary: When Joey inherits an old, broken down house, he gets the gang to explore it. However, what they don't know is what else is inside it besides themselves... RxR.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, people! This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfic here, so... heh... Normally I'm a comedy writer. This is my first non-comedy fic, so I hope it's good! Enjoy!

**NOTE:** There will be no "pairings" in this fic, so sorry if that dissapoints you.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ...But who wouldn't want to? Heheh..

* * *

**Haunted Inheritance **

Yugi tapped his pencil on the white paper in front of him, deep in thought. Although his mind was only half-on the test he was supposed to be working on… the other half was currently imagining playing Tetris… he had become addicted to the game recently, and his thoughts kept returning to it.

His mind was also occupied at the absence of Joey today. He was never late to school – probably because if he arrived early enough, he could always get a cheap bagel for breakfast. He stared at the back of Teà's head, who was sitting in the seat in front of him. He stared next at Tristian's, in the seat in his front-right. But the seat in front of him, Joey's, was empty.

Yugi brought his thoughts back to his paper. He was taking a test, he didn't have time to let his mind wander… he could worry about Joey later.

Teà dropped her pencil in front of him, and bent down to pick it up. Her test paper was revealed for a flash as she did this, and Yugi realized, with a shock, that she was almost done, and he had only done a couple questions! He bent down back to his paper and began filling in bubbles.

Half way done a few minutes later, he was finally beginning to think he might finish in time when the door slammed open, and Joey scrambled in. Everyone looked up to see Joey panting in the doorway, clutching an official looking paper

"What is the meaning of this?" their teacher howled at him.

"Sorry," Joey panted, "but…" The teacher cut him off.

"I will not have you coming in late to my class, Mr. Wheeler," she snapped. "Take your seat immediately. You can take your test after school."

"No, see," Joey began, still panting, "The principal wants to see Yugi, Teà, and Tristan right away."

"…Oh, well can it wait until after their test?"

"No, he said it's urgent," Joey urged her.

"Well, okay," she said, but she didn't look too sure. Nonetheless, she continued. "Yugi, Tristan, Teà, you'll have to finish your tests after school, too." The three of them got up, wondering what the principal could want with them, handed their papers to the teacher (Yugi was a little reluctant to let go), and followed Joey out the door.

"Why does the principal want to see us?" Tristan asked. He was used to seeing the principal. He and Joey saw him so much that the principal kept their records outside the file cabinet, knowing he would have to take them out again soon anyway.

"He doesn't," Joey replied coolly.

"What?" Teà questioned, almost yelling. "Then why did you force us to come with you? I am NOT getting a bad grade because you want to skip school!"

"Knowing you, you were practically done, anyway," Joey turned on her. "But either way, this isn't any normal reason to skip school." He waved the paper in his hand in front of them.

"What's that?" Yugi asked, taking it. His eyes scanned it, looking for what was so important about it, but he found it almost immediately. Before he could say anything, though, Tristan snatched it from his hand, saw what it was about, and stared at Joey.

"You've been given a HOUSE?" he asked.

"Yeah, can you believe it?" Joey replied, still coolly. "My grandparents – the ones I barely knew – they died and left me this place."

"Who in the right mind would leave _you_ a house?" Teà asked, still angry.

Joey looked at the floor. "Well, my pop and I were the only people they knew who didn't already have one…." He perked up again. "So I was thinking we should go check it out!"

"And that couldn't wait until _after school?_" Tea snapped again.

"Well," Joey began, "I figured 'when's a better time to go to a place when everyone you know's looked up in school?"

"Joey, I don't think…" Yugi started, but he was cut off again.

"Hey, what are you doing out of class?" A loud voice asked. Yugi cringed. He knew that voice, and it was currently the last one he wanted to hear at the moment.

It was the principle.

* * *

What did you think? Please read and review! I currently need them! Thanks in advance! 


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, everybody! Here's chapter two, and I think I'm quite satisfied with it. Hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. (Do I have to put this in every chapter?)

* * *

"What are you doing out of class?" The principal repeated.

"Uh…" Joey began, turning around to face him. "Hey, Mr…" he was cut off.

"Don't try to act innocent to me, Mr. Wheeler," The Principle said. "If I know you – and I do – you're up to no good."

"Oh, come on, that's a pretty low statement…" Tristan commented. The principle looked like he was about to reply when Teà spoke up.

"Actually, sir, we were just on our way to the parking lot," she said. The principle stared at her as if he didn't realize she was there before.

"Oh?" he replied, questioningly.

"Yeah," Teà continued. "We left all of our things in my car, and we were just going out to get them."

The principle looked puzzled. He seemed to be questioning the meticulousness of Teà's story, but he seemed to recognize her as trustworthy.

"You should have a pass from your teacher next time," he ordered. "You shouldn't be wondering the halls in the middle of class without one." He pointed to Joey and Tristan. "But I've still got my eye on you two…" he said, and walked away.

Joey breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the save, Teà," he thanked.

"Well, I figured I already am going to fail my test, why get detention for it?" she replied.

"You won't fail, Teà," Yugi encouraged.

"Yeah, you had like two questions left," Tristan agreed, slumping against the wall.

"Well, lets go before he realizes that Teà doesn't have a car," Joey said, and they began walking again, in silence.

They walked through the double doors into the humid, sunny day outside, which greeted them with a wave of heat and discomfort. Tristan was the first to openly acknowledge it.

"It's hot!" he complained.

"Yeah," Joey replied, not wanting to waste energy talking.

"So where do we go now?" Teà asked, equally tired.

Joey looked disgruntled a little from having to speak more, but replied, anyway. "We just go in the woods… and then we find a tunnel that we have to go through, and then…"

"Tunnel?" Teà interrupted. "I am NOT going through any dark creepy tunnels!"

"Well, it's the only way to get there, apparently," Joey replied, looking at the paper.

"Don't worry, Teà," Yugi encouraged. "We'll all be there by your side."

"Well, okay," Teà replied. If anyone else had said that, she wouldn't have given in so easily….

"Hey!" Someone shouted, from farther away. They all turned in the direction of the voice to see Yami running toward them and waving.

"Yami, what are you doing?" Yugi asked. "You're not allowed on school property, remember?"

"Yeah," Yami replied, rubbing his head and recalling what happened last time he was here…

"Hi, Yami," Joey greeted, just now noticing him, apparently. "We're having an adventure!" His desire to find his new house had apparently overcome the need to defeat the heat.

"Oh, no, not another one…" Yami replied.

"Joey got a house," Tristan told him.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" Yugi asked him before Yami could reply to what Tristan said.

"Oh, Grandpa wanted me to go out and get some things, but I think I'll just stay with you."

Yugi was about to protest, and say that if Grandpa put him on an errand he should probably do it, but Joey spoke first.

"Okay, then lets go! The more the merrier!" And he began walking again. Everyone else had no choice but to follow him.

Each step was like one more torpedo to a sinking ship. The heat was unbearable as they continued to put foot after foot in front of them, letting their legs carry them into the shade they were so eager to enter. It greeted them once they got there with a rush of refreshing air, taking away the extra weight the sun had placed on their backs.

"So where's this tunnel then?" Tristan asked, now refreshed.

"This way," Joey answered, pointing into the forest, and without another word, he continued following, leaving the others, once again, no choice but to follow him.

After a bit of walking, Teà almost tripped over a rock with a yelp.

"Can we rest?" She asked Joey, who was somehow full of energy.

Joey looked puzzled at first, apparently at why she needed it, realized it, considered his options, and gave in. "All right," he said, "but just for a bit."

They all sat on the most comfortable rocks they could find. After only a few seconds, however, Joey stood up.

"Okay, lets go!"

"Joey, calm down," Yugi suggested. "Why are you so eager to find this house?"

"Because it's mine!" Joey replied, triumphantly. "Now let's go!" And he walked down the trail again. Everyone else groaned, but they got up and followed anyway.

It was only a couple minutes later when Joey laughed with delight, and began running. Everyone else, who were about ten yards behind him, stared and wondered what he could be so happy about in this heat. But they continued walking, and found Joey sitting next to a dark hole, looking down into it.

"This is it," Joey said to them, and pointed to the hole.

"That's your house, man?" Tristan asked, puzzled.

"It's the tunnel, Tristan!" Joey replied loudly, apparently shocked that he would say such a thing.

"It looks kinda creepy…" Teà commented.

"Well, who's first?" Yami asked.

"I'll go," Joey volunteered immediately. He stepped onto a rusty ladder on the inside of the whole and began climbing down. One by one, each of them followed him into the darkness (where it was actually much cooler).

"How are we supposed to see down here?" Tristan asked when they were all inside the tunnel. Joey looked baffled, as he had apparently not thought of this. Everyone stared at him for a solution.

"Anyone got a flashlight?" He asked. Everyone gave a loud moan.

"You didn't think about that before?" Tristan questioned Joey.

"I was exited!" Joey responded. Before anyone could say anything else, however, a sudden bright light illuminated their surroundings. They looked around for a second for the source, and they saw that it was Yami's puzzle glowing. Yami smiled.

"Well… I can do that," Yami told them.

"…Well, okay, then!" Joey yelled happily, glad for an excuse to stop everyone from yelling at him. "Into the tunnel!"

Without another word, each of them, guided by the light from Yami's puzzle, traveled deeper into the tunnel, deeper into the unknown, unaware of what they would find at the end.

* * *

What did you think? Please Read and Review! You can expect a reply from me if you do! 


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, everyone! Sorry this chapter took a little longer to write, I got writer's block a couple times... But you can thank Yugisrose for helping me out of it.

Anyway, here you go!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own YuGiOh. (Does anyone here actually do?)

* * *

They continued down the dark tunnel, aided by the light from Yami's puzzle. Yugi walked next to Teà, who kept looking over her shoulder, claiming to hear something. Out of fright, she was standing so close to Yugi that he could almost hear her heartbeat (which was kind of loud at the moment). Tristan was shivering (it was quite cold underground, after all), and Joey and Yami were walking in front, leading the procession.

After what felt like an hour of silence, as none of them spoke, they saw something in front of them. Yugi squinted in the darkness to see what it was, and as Yami's light got closer to it, he realized what it was.

It was a wall.

"What?" Joey yelled, and ran forward to the wall. "Where's the tunnel exit?" He banged on the wall in frustration. "There should be another hole in the ceiling like the last one!"

"Maybe they forgot to dig it?" Teà replied, eager to turn around and go back home.

"They must have put it here somewhere!" Joey yelled, his voice echoing along the walls. He began to search the wall, as if looking for a secret switch.

"Uh… dude?" Tristan said. Joey rounded on him. As Yami did, too, and the light fell on him, they saw what he was talking about. There, in his right hand, he held the ladder, and above it, what looked like a sewer lid.

"…Oh…." Was all Joey could say. But after almost a second, he ran up to the ladder and began climbing. "Come on," he called back down to them, although he wasn't that high up at all. "We're almost there!"

As Tristan began to follow him up the ladder, Joey pushed on the sewer lid above his head, and beams of overly bright sunlight filled the corridor. One by one, they each climbed out of the hole and into the warmth of the sun.

Once Yugi's eyes adjusted to the light, he looked around and saw why they needed the tunnel. The area they were in was circled by a large number of oak trees, each planted so closely together that they grew and touched, so it basically formed a tree wall around the area.

Tristan noticed it, too. "Wow," he said, "I didn't know trees could do that…"

"Forget the trees, we've got exploring to do!" Joey called, and began sprinting. Yugi realized that he was so transfixed by the phenomenon of the tree wall that they forgot the real reason they had come there in the first place. He looked in Joey's direction, expecting almost a fortress, but saw instead a large, dirty house, with broken windows, dug up holes that haven't been filled, and dust all over the house.

"This is where you live now?" Teà asked, amazed that Joey could actually like it.

"Yeah, now come on!" He replied, not stopping. He reached the front door just as the rest of them began walking.

"Welcome to my home!" Joey greeted in a strange accent them as they approached, as if they didn't all arrive at the same time. "Here, you will all take pleasure in doing every single thing I ask, and that includes getting me hot dogs."

"What?" Tristan questioned. "You should be serving us! We're the guests."

"How about we just go inside?" Yugi suggested.

"Yeah, it's hot out here again," Tristan agreed.

"Okay, fine," Joey replied. He turned, looked at the door, and turned back around. "Anyone got the key?"

"_You don't have the key?_" Tea asked. "How could you not have the key?"

"Hey, I never got one!" Joey replied. "They just said 'You get a house,' and that was it!" Joey turned around and hit the door out of frustration. Surprisingly to everyone, it swung open.

"Uh…" Joey stared at the doorway, speechless in surprise.

"Well, then, let's go in!" Tristan exclaimed, and slapped Joey on the back in a good-job way. Their enthusiasm made Yugi smile.

"Yugi," Yami said, and Yugi turned around. Yami had a worried look about him, and he spoke quietly so only Yugi could here. "This house doesn't feel normal…"

"Oh, come on, Yami, what could go wrong?" Yugi replied, still smiling.

"Well, you yourself once said, 'every time we get to do something normal, we turn around and we have to save the world again.' I'm thinking this is another one of those times."

"Oh…" Yugi realized, his smile dying. "What do you think we should do?"

"Come on, guys!" Teà called from in front of the house. She seemed torn between the options of following Joey and Tristan into the house or waiting for Yugi and Yami to finish their inaudible conversation. She apparently had chosen the latter.

"There's nothing we can do now but just be passive," Yami commented.

"Yeah," Yugi replied, and they absentmindedly began walking toward Teà, wondering what secrets this house was hiding, what new foes they would be likely to face inside it, and if the five of them would get out all right.

* * *

Hehe... Sorry again for the cliffhangers, but this story just HAS to have them! I just can't not put them there... Anyway, please Read and Review! I reply to all of them! 


	4. Chapter 4

Yami, Teà, and Yugi all stepped through the doorway into an old, dusty entrance hall. To their left was a door, which was closed. To their right were two doors, also of which were closed. Right in front of them was a large staircase, which led upstairs to a set of double doors that could have been described as "grand" if they were in better repair. To the left and right of these doors were two more doors, on opposite ends of the wall.

Joey was standing in the middle of the room, looking around, an appalled look on his face that became more so every time he blinked. Tristan was wandering the walls, looking at various dusty paintings that were hung on the wall, camouflaging with the background, as they were both covered in a thick layer of grime.

"_This is my house?_ Joey asked to no one in particular. "It's a dump! Couldn't my grandparents leave me a better place?"

Joey began pacing around the room in anger, his hopes crushed into the dust by the very dust in the room.

"Well, maybe the rest of the house will be better!" Tistan suggested optimistically, stopping from his tour of the paintings.

"Yeah, cheer up. I'm sure the rest of the house is great!" Yugi smiled falsely. He actually didn't really believe his own words, but he would lie to himself to try to cheer up his friends.

"Yeah, with a little polish, this place can look great!" Teà agreed.

"Are you kidding me?" Joey yelled back at them. He stomped over to the bottom of the staircase and kicked the wooden handrail, shaking the whole thing violently and forcing the dust to vacate its surface. Joey gasped in pain and recoiled, clutching his foot with both hands.

"And now my foot hurts!" Joey yelled. Tristan, however, suddenly had a thought.

"Hey, Joey, remember seeing places like this in stories and things?" He asked. When he got no answer, he went on. "Places like these have been abandoned for years – no, decades. There's probably some really old stuff in here."

Joey gave him a look of realization, and the angry air around him seemed to evaporate.

"There could be treasure," Tristan commented.

"Yeah…" Joey said, barely thinking. "There could be…"

"Yeah, Joey," Yugi started. "Maybe we can raise enough money from this place to eventually get a better one!"

The angry look disappeared from Joey's eyes at these words, replaced by something much more hopeful.

"So what do you say we start hunting for it?" Tristan said.

"Yeah!" Joey called eagerly. Immediately, he rushed up the stairs (with each step, the staircase creaked dangerously), and he turned around once he reached the top. "Come on!"

But Yami, who was still standing in the doorway, had a question.

"Do you think this place has plumbing?" he asked.

"Probably not, why?" Joey answered.

"Well… see, I haven't gone to the bathroom since this morning, and…" Yami said awkwardly, wiggling his legs a little.

"Oh, right, um…" Joey looked around awkwardly. However, he was apparently stricken with a thought. "Yeah," he began, "go off and look for it. If we break off into groups, we can find the treasure that much faster!" He hopped up and down enthusiastically.

Yami stared at him for a moment as if he was a bit insane, but decided he was right, shrugged, and walked over to the closest door on his right.

Tristan looked at him for a moment in thought. "I gotta go too," Tristan said, and followed Yami, leaving Yugi and Teà to follow Joey up the stairs.

"Let's go this way," Joey pointed to their left once Teà and Yugi joined him at the top of the staircase. Stretching to their left and right was a hallway, with a single door at each end. In front of them was a set of double doors that would have looked very fancy in better condition. But Joey ignored these doors, and instead began to approach the door at the end of the hallway in which he pointed.

"I bet that's the place where they keep all their diamonds!" Joey said, when he grasped the doorknob, leaving Teà and Yugi to exchange doubtful looks. After a moment of preparation, he turned it and pulled it open.

A strong gust of wind greeted them, pushing them all back as if the air was waiting behind the door to escape. However, it died down almost immediately, leaving everyone staring at each other, silently wondering what that just was.

"What was that?" Yugi finally asked aloud.

"It's a GHOST!" Joey yelled, jumping back from the empty doorway. The sound of his fright bounced off the walls and echoed back to them, making it sound creepier than it would have been. Yugi shuddered with the thought. Teà, however, was not convinced.

"You probably just opened the door too hard, Joey," she said.

"Yeah," Joey accepted after a moment of thought. He straightened himself out, and walked through the doorway, more cautiously than before. Yugi was still a little scared, and he kept looking over his shoulder.

At the other end of the doorway, another long hallway was waiting for them. Doors saluted them on each side of the hallway like a skeleton soldier line up, with the hallway curving to the right and out of sight.

"Another hallway?" Teà commented.

"Well, which door first?" Joey asked, not acknowledging Teà's question.

"Well…" Yugi began, "We're probably going to look in all of them. Let's just start with the closest." He indicated the first door on the left. Joey walked over to it, quickly turned the doorknob, pulled the door open, and jumped aside.

Nothing came out.

The door bounced off the wall (because Joey opened it so hard in his rush to get out of the way) and returned to its original position in the doorway with a click. Joey breathed out with relief, and opened the door again to look in.

"Yes!" He yelled triumphantly after a quick glance in the room. "Am I good or what?"

Yugi walked over to see what the room was, and what he found didn't surprise him one bit. It was a dark and musty room, but the grime didn't diminish Joey's excitement at all, for the room was a kitchen.

Joey took his newfound happiness into the room with him as he entered, and his feet guided him immediately to the refrigerator. His left arm grasped the handle and gave a tug, but the door remained closed. A little surprised, Joey stared for a second, but regained his composure almost immediately, and tugged at it with both hands. Still, nothing.

"Must be locked," Joey guessed, giving up.

"You're pathetic, Joey…" Teà said, staring into the room from behind Yugi. "We have a whole house to explore, and you have to stop at the_ kitchen_?"

"Oh, come on, Teà," Joey replied. "We would be having lunch in school by now, anyway."

"Ugh," Teà gave up. "Come on, Yugi," she said, and walked out of the doorway, leaving Yugi to follow her.

She stopped at a random door, two doors down from the kitchen where Joey was undoubtedly attempting to find something to gorge himself with. "Let's look in here," she said. She grabbed the doorknob, but before she was able to begin turning the device, a loud scream met their ears.

"Joey!" Yugi recognized the yell, and ran off to the kitchen to find the cause of it, leaving Teà's hand on the doorknob.


End file.
